4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:
5 And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:
6 That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?
7 Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.
8 And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.
9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.
10 For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until everything was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hasted and passed over.
11 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the LORD passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people.
12 And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them:
13 About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the LORD unto battle, to the plains of Jericho.
4 Then Joshua H3091 called H7121 the twelve H8147 H6240 men, H376 whom he had prepared H3559 of the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 out of every H259 tribe H7626 a man: H376
5 And Joshua H3091 said H559 unto them, Pass over H5674 before H6440 the ark H727 of the LORD H3068 your God H430 into the midst H8432 of Jordan, H3383 and take ye up H7311 every H259 man H376 of you a stone H68 upon his shoulder, H7926 according unto the number H4557 of the tribes H7626 of the children H1121 of Israel: H3478
6 That this may be a sign H226 among H7130 you, that when your children H1121 ask H7592 their fathers in time to come, H4279 saying, H559 What mean ye by these stones? H68
7 Then ye shall answer H559 them, That the waters H4325 of Jordan H3383 were cut off H3772 before H6440 the ark H727 of the covenant H1285 of the LORD; H3068 when it passed over H5674 Jordan, H3383 the waters H4325 of Jordan H3383 were cut off: H3772 and these stones H68 shall be for a memorial H2146 unto the children H1121 of Israel H3478 for H5704 ever. H5769
8 And the children H1121 of Israel H3478 did H6213 so as Joshua H3091 commanded, H6680 and took up H5375 twelve H8147 H6240 stones H68 out of the midst H8432 of Jordan, H3383 as the LORD H3068 spake H1696 unto Joshua, H3091 according to the number H4557 of the tribes H7626 of the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 and carried them over H5674 with them unto the place where they lodged, H4411 and laid them down H3240 there.
9 And Joshua H3091 set up H6965 twelve H8147 H6240 stones H68 in the midst H8432 of Jordan, H3383 in the place where the feet H7272 of the priests H3548 which bare H5375 the ark H727 of the covenant H1285 stood: H4673 and they are there unto this day. H3117
10 For the priests H3548 which bare H5375 the ark H727 stood H5975 in the midst H8432 of Jordan, H3383 until every thing H1697 was finished H8552 that the LORD H3068 commanded H6680 Joshua H3091 to speak H1696 unto the people, H5971 according to all that Moses H4872 commanded H6680 Joshua: H3091 and the people H5971 hasted H4116 and passed over. H5674
11 And it came to pass, when all the people H5971 were clean H8552 passed over, H5674 that the ark H727 of the LORD H3068 passed over, H5674 and the priests, H3548 in the presence H6440 of the people. H5971
12 And the children H1121 of Reuben, H7205 and the children H1121 of Gad, H1410 and half H2677 the tribe H7626 of Manasseh, H4519 passed over H5674 armed H2571 before H6440 the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 as Moses H4872 spake H1696 unto them:
13 About forty H705 thousand H505 prepared H2502 for war H6635 passed over H5674 before H6440 the LORD H3068 unto battle, H4421 to the plains H6160 of Jericho. H3405
4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:
5 and Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of Jehovah your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel;
6 that this may be a sign among you, that, when your children ask in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?
7 then ye shall say unto them, Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah; when it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.
8 And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, as Jehovah spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel; and they carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.
9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests that bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.
10 For the priests that bare the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan, until everything was finished that Jehovah commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hasted and passed over.
11 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of Jehovah passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people.
12 And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them:
13 about forty thousand ready armed for war passed over before Jehovah unto battle, to the plains of Jericho.
4 And Joshua calleth unto the twelve men whom he prepared out of the sons of Israel, one man -- one man out of a tribe;
5 and Joshua saith to them, `Pass over before the ark of Jehovah your God unto the midst of the Jordan and lift up for you each, one stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel,
6 so that this is a sign in your midst, when your children ask hereafter, saying, What `are' these stones to you?
7 that ye have said to them, Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off, at the presence of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah; in its passing over into the Jordan were the waters of the Jordan cut off; and these stones have been for a memorial to the sons of Israel -- to the age.'
8 And the sons of Israel do so as Joshua commanded, and take up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, as Jehovah hath spoken unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel, and remove them over with them unto the lodging-place, and place them there,
9 even the twelve stones hath Joshua raised up out of the midst of the Jordan, the place of the standing of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant, and they are there unto this day.
10 And the priests bearing the ark are standing in the midst of the Jordan till the completion of the whole thing which Jehovah commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua, and the people haste and pass over.
11 And it cometh to pass when all the people have completed to pass over, that the ark of Jehovah passeth over, and the priests, in the presence of the people;
12 and the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh, pass over, by fifties, before the sons of Israel, as Moses had spoken unto them;
13 about forty thousand, armed ones of the host, passed over before Jehovah for battle, unto the plains of Jericho.
4 And Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had appointed of the children of Israel, a man out of every tribe;
5 and Joshua said to them, Pass before the ark of Jehovah your God into the midst of the Jordan, and lift up each of you a stone [and put it] upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel,
6 that this may be a sign in your midst. When your children ask hereafter, saying, What mean ye by these stones?
7 then ye shall say to them, That the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah; when it went through the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.
8 And the children of Israel did so, as Joshua had commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, as Jehovah had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the lodging-place, and laid them down there.
9 And twelve stones did Joshua set up in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant had stood firm; and they are there to this day.
10 And the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan, until everything was finished that Jehovah had commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. And the people hasted and passed over.
11 And it came to pass, when all the people had completely gone over, that the ark of Jehovah went over, and the priests, in the presence of the people.
12 And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, went over in array before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them.
13 About forty thousand armed for military service passed over before Jehovah to the war, unto the plains of Jericho.
4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:
5 and Joshua said to them, Pass over before the ark of Yahweh your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up every man of you a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel;
6 that this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask in time to come, saying, What do you mean by these stones?
7 then you shall tell them, Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of Yahweh; when it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.
8 The children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, as Yahweh spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.
9 Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there to this day.
10 For the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan, until everything was finished that Yahweh commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hurried and passed over.
11 It happened, when all the people had completely passed over, that the ark of Yahweh passed over, with the priests, in the presence of the people.
12 The children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spoke to them:
13 about forty thousand ready armed for war passed over before Yahweh to battle, to the plains of Jericho.
4 So Joshua sent for the twelve men, whom he had ready, one man out of every tribe of the children of Israel,
5 And he said to them, Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of Jordan, and let every one of you take up a stone on his back, one for every tribe of the children of Israel:
6 So that this may be a sign among you; when your children say to you in time to come, What is the reason for these stones?
7 Then you will say to them, Because the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the Lord's agreement; when it went over Jordan the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones will be a sign for the children of Israel, keeping it in their memory for ever.
8 So the children of Israel did as Joshua gave them orders, and took twelve stones from the middle of Jordan, as the Lord had said to Joshua, one for every tribe of the children of Israel; these they took across with them to their night's resting-place and put them down there.
9 And Joshua put up twelve stones in the middle of Jordan, where the feet of the priests who took up the ark of the agreement had been placed: and there they are to this day.
10 For the priests who took up the ark kept there in the middle of Jordan till all the orders given to Joshua by Moses from the Lord had been done: then the people went over quickly.
11 And when all the people had come to the other side, the ark of the Lord went over, and the priests, before the eyes of the people.
12 And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh went over armed before the children of Israel as Moses had said to them:
13 About forty thousand armed for war went over before the Lord to the fight, to the lowlands of Jericho.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Joshua 4
Commentary on Joshua 4 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 4
Jos 4:1-8. Twelve Stones Taken for a Memorial Out of Jordan.
1-3. the Lord spake unto Joshua, Take you twelve men—each representing a tribe. They had been previously chosen for this service (Jos 3:12), and the repetition of the command is made here solely to introduce the account of its execution. Though Joshua had been divinely instructed to erect a commemorative pile, the representatives were not apprised of the work they were to do till the time of the passage.
4, 5. Joshua called the twelve men—They had probably, from a feeling of reverence, kept back, and were standing on the eastern bank. They were now ordered to advance. Picking up each a stone, probably as large as he could carry, from around the spot "where the priests stood," they pass over before the ark and deposit the stones in the place of next encampment (Jos 4:19, 20), namely, Gilgal.
6, 7. That this may be a sign among you—The erection of cairns, or huge piles of stones, as monuments of remarkable incidents has been common among all people, especially in the early and rude periods of their history. They are the established means of perpetuating the memory of important transactions, especially among the nomadic people of the East. Although there be no inscription engraved on them, the history and object of such simple monuments are traditionally preserved from age to age. Similar was the purpose contemplated by the conveyance of the twelve stones to Gilgal: it was that they might be a standing record to posterity of the miraculous passage of the Jordan.
8. the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded—that is, it was done by their twelve representatives.
Jos 4:9. Twelve Stones Set Up in the Midst of Jordan.
9. Joshua set up twelve stones … in the place where the feet of the priests … stood—In addition to the memorial just described, there was another memento of the miraculous event, a duplicate of the former, set up in the river itself, on the very spot where the ark had rested. This heap of stones might have been a large and compactly built one and visible in the ordinary state of the river. As nothing is said where these stones were obtained, some have imagined that they might have been gathered in the adjoining fields and deposited by the people as they passed the appointed spot.
they are there unto this day—at least twenty years after the event, if we reckon by the date of this history (Jos 24:26), and much later, if the words in the latter clause were inserted by Samuel or Ezra.
Jos 4:10-13. The People Pass Over.
10. the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan—This position was well calculated to animate the people, who probably crossed below the ark, as well as to facilitate Joshua's execution of the minutest instructions respecting the passage (Nu 27:21-23). The unfaltering confidence of the priests contrasts strikingly with the conduct of the people, who "hasted and passed over." Their faith, like that of many of God's people, was, through the weakness of nature, blended with fears. But perhaps their "haste" may be viewed in a more favorable light, as indicating the alacrity of their obedience, or it might have been enjoined in order that the the whole multitude might pass in one day.
11. the ark of the Lord passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people—The ark is mentioned as the efficient cause; it had been the first to move—it was the last to leave—and its movements arrested the deep attention of the people, who probably stood on the opposite bank, wrapt in admiration and awe of this closing scene. It was a great miracle, greater even than the passage of the Red Sea in this respect: that, admitting the fact, there is no possibility of rationalistic insinuations as to the influence of natural causes in producing it, as have been made in the former case.
12, 13. the children of Reuben … passed over armed before the children of Israel—There is no precedency to the other tribes indicated here; for there is no reason to suppose that the usual order of march was departed from; but these are honorably mentioned to show that, in pursuance of their promise (Jos 1:16-18), they had sent a complement of fighting men to accompany their brethren in the war of invasion.
13. to the plains of Jericho—That part of the Arabah or Ghor, on the west, is about seven miles broad from the Jordan to the mountain entrance at Wady-Kelt. Though now desert, this valley was in ancient times richly covered with wood. An immense palm forest, seven miles long, surrounded Jericho.
Jos 4:14-24. God Magnifies Joshua.
14-17. On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel—It appeared clear from the chief part he acted, that he was the divinely appointed leader; for even the priests did not enter the river or quit their position, except at his command; and thenceforward his authority was as firmly established as that of his predecessor.
18. it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark … were come out of the midst of Jordan … that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place—Their crossing, which was the final act, completed the evidence of the miracle; for then, and not till then, the suspended laws of nature were restored, the waters returned to their place, and the river flowed with as full a current as before.
19. the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month—that is, the month Nisan, four days before the passover, and the very day when the paschal lamb required to be set apart, the providence of God having arranged that the entrance into the promised land should be at the feast.
and encamped in Gilgal—The name is here given by anticipation (see on Jos 5:9). It was a tract of land, according to Josephus, fifty stadia (six and one-half miles) from Jordan, and ten stadia (one and one-fourth miles) from Jericho, at the eastern outskirts of the palm forest, now supposed to be the spot occupied by the village Riha.
20-24. those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal—Probably to render them more conspicuous, they might be raised on a foundation of earth or turf. The pile was designed to serve a double purpose—that of impressing the heathen with a sense of the omnipotence of God, while at the same time it would teach an important lesson in religion to the young and rising Israelites in after ages.